Planning ahead #thrifty

I still haven’t bought any Christmas presents, but I’m looking out for suitable gifts. Many prices will go up closer to Christmas, so you can save money by getting your presents early. One idea is to buy a few smaller gifts and put them in a gift bag. You can get the gift bags from Poundland.

Make up your gift bag the same as you would a Christmas stocking, but different gifts for different ages. You might include a pack of pens and a diary, a project book for a student or a colouring book for a child. Older people can be quite nostalgic, so for them a local history book might be a good idea. Chocolate is a firm favourite for Christmas stockings and goodie bags, but be sure to store your presents somewhere cool so the chocolate doesn’t melt.

Aldi

The super-six at Aldi this week are romaine lettuce (2), cox apples, persimmon (3), baking potatoes (4), parsnips (600g) and large flat mushrooms (250g). They are all 59p and the offer continues until 19th November.

There was a farmer on TV this week who supplied parsnips to Morrison’s and they will only have perfect ones, so the less perfect ones go to animal feed and waste. He should try selling the less than perfect ones cheap to Aldi. I don’t mind the smaller ones they are more tender.

Don’t give your kid sparklers this year. You wouldn’t give them a red hot poker to play with and sparklers are worse, they are white hot. Buy them a torch or a lantern instead. I had a lantern complete with batteries for 2.99 at Aldi, the next week they were half price so I bought another one. They are great when I get home in the dark and I can’t find the keyhole!

The special buys today are fairly mixed, the top one is a hair dryer for 9.99 and the rest are products for keeping warm and dry.

The top special buy on Sunday is a quilted jacket for men at 16.99. The rest are for keeping warm too. The thermal underwear for 3.99 is worth buying. I already have some for those photo shoots when I’m out in freezing weather. Don’t wear thermal underwear under tight clothing, they can be thicker than normal underwear. There is even a smart watch in with the special buys on Sunday.

Amazon

I have a wish list on Amazon, they will often make suggestions for less expensive products or even reduce the price of products on your wish list. I have a Speedlight for my camera on my wish list. I would like it for a photo-shoot later this month, but I already have a small one, so I’m not sure if I will need it. I also have some shoes on my wish list, but they are not real leather. Leather will stretch if shoes are a bit tight and the last pair I bought weren’t leather so won’t stretch a bit. I don’t really need either product yet so I’ll keep looking for shoes, maybe I’ll get real leather. The professional Speedlight isn’t really needed yet either. If you are ordering from Amazon or buying goods on Ebay, read the small print, some come in from the far east and you could be asked to pay import duty and VAT on top of the advertised price.

Tesco

Tesco has a double club card points promo on which could be worth checking out. I don’t like these schemes where you have to collect points and stuff, just give me reduced prices. I was given a temporary club card with no instructions on what to do with it. I also have a Morrison’s card and the M&S one.

Matalan

Matalan is always worth checking out for clothes. The selection of men’s clothes in the store isn’t always that good and the popular sizes are often sold out. It can be a good idea to buy online and pick up in-store. Their 20% offers using your Matalan card are worth having.

Poundland

I went in Poundland for some Alberto hair gel and it was out of stock. The young lady said she had ordered it and so I went in again this week. I couldn’t find any. I asked the young lady and she found it at the end of a shelf, there were only 3 on display and so I bought them all. They have none on the shelves again now! Many stores have problems with displays they need to fix, not just Poundland. I might start ordering from Poundland online too.

That’s it for this week. If you know of a bargain or have a thrifty or frugal tip, please share it with a comment below. You can follow this blog by entering your email address in the space at the top of the sidebar or simply follow me on Twitter for updates.